The Republican Establishment Just Abandoned Donald Trump

Donald Trump was never the establishment’s first choice for President.

Trump’s brand of American First populism threatens to upend the donor class and the party elites who serve them.

But the full extent of the establishment’s betrayal has just been revealed.

Unlike previous cycles, the Republican National Committee is not spending any money for TV ads on behalf of the nominee.

Not one penny has been allocated to help Trump combat Clinton’s TV ad campaign bombardment.

Politico reports:

“A POLITICO analysis of campaign finance records reveals that the committee has not spent anything on commercials boosting Trump since he emerged as the party’s likely nominee.

That’s a stark departure from recent elections. In 2008 and 2012, the RNC spent tens of millions of dollars on so-called independent expenditures — principally TV ads, but also direct mail and phone banks — supporting its nominees or attacking their Democratic rivals.

The lack of air cover has prompted grumbling from Trump aides and allies, many of whom believe that the RNC was never fully supportive of their candidate and that it’s now turning its back completely on the anti-establishment nominee as his poll numbers crater.

“The Democrats have an unprecedented and lopsided advertising advantage in this race like we have never seen before, and it is having a serious and negative effect,” said Curt Anderson, a former RNC political director who is helping a pro-Trump super PAC, Rebuilding America Now. “It is possible that Trump has sealed his fate at this point, but it is still a terrible mistake not to have $50 million of advertising from the Republican Party exposing Hillary Clinton and keeping her numbers down,” said Anderson, who helped to lead the RNC’s independent expenditure effort in 2004 and 2008.

In 2004, the committee spent $18.2 million on independent expenditures — or IEs, in campaign parlance — boosting George W. Bush’s reelection bid. In 2008, the RNC’s IE spending surged to $53.5 million in support of John McCain’s campaign against Barack Obama. And in 2012, the RNC spent $42.4 million on IEs boosting Mitt Romney or opposing President Obama — with nearly 80 percent of the spending occurring before mid-October.

By contrast, this cycle the RNC has spent only $321,000 on independent expenditures attacking Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. And all of that spending occurred last fall — before Trump had emerged as the leader for the GOP presidential nomination.”

With establishment friendly candidates on the ballot in 2004, 2008, and 2012, the Republican National Committee turned on the money spigot to fund TV ads, direct mail, and voter contact initiatives to help the nominees.

Millions of dollars were spent to try and win the elections.

But with Trump on the ballot, the National Committee has spent only a paltry $321,000 to boost his candidacy.

Trump has been vocal about the party establishment selling him out.

The Democrats have a corrupt political machine pushing crooked Hillary Clinton. We have Paul Ryan, always fighting the Republican nominee!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 16, 2016

Some pundits believe the Republican establishment would rather see Hillary win so that amnesty legislation and the globalist Trans-Pacific Partnership is passed on the Democrats watch –and therefore avoid any blowback from Trump’s populist supporters.

The Republican National Committee’s refusal to help Trump with independent expenditures only helps fuel this speculation.